Posted on 28 Feb 2024
Feng Hsin Steel, Taiwan's largest rebar producer headquartered in Taichung in central Taiwan, has decided to hold its rebar list prices for transactions over February 26-March 1, while its procurement price for local scrap has been cut by another TWD 200/tonne ($6.3/t) this week, a company official confirmed on Tuesday.
With the latest adjustment, the mini-mill continues to offer its 13mm dia rebar at TWD 19,700/t EXW for business negotiations till this Friday, the same level as the previous week, and its buying price for local HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap comes down to TWD 11,000/t, he added.
Prices of global scrap delivered to Taiwan weakened continuously, giving local mini-mills some confidence to cut their procurement prices for scrap accordingly, Mysteel Global noted.
As of February 26, the price of US-sourced HMS 1&2 80:20 scrap was reported at $368/t CFR Taiwan, losing by another $2/t on week, while the price of Japan-origin H2 scrap stayed unchanged on week at $378/t CFR Taiwan, according to a local market source.
Although Feng Hsin secured some new orders for its rebar last week, Taiwan's steel market was still quiet overall as many end-users preferred to wait and see after noting the decrease in iron ore prices and the weakness in steel prices in mainland China, the company official explained.
Meanwhile, market participants concern that steel demand from end-users in China may not recover as expected given the poor performance of the country's real estate market, Mysteel Global was told.
On Monday, Mysteel SEADEX 62% Australian Fines had declined to a four-month low of $115.9/dmt CFR Qingdao, falling by $12.2/dmt compared with one week earlier, and China's national price of HRB400E 20mm dia rebar was assessed by Mysteel at Yuan 3,995/tonne ($561/t) including the 13% VAT, lower by Yuan 48/t on week.
Source:Mysteel Global
